as in backwards
near, toward, or in the stern of a ship or the tail of an aircraft
if you turn around and look astern, you'll see dolphins following the boat
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for astern
Adverb
-
Also of note is the Dusk Bar, which sits aft on Deck 10 and is stocked with interesting spirits.—
David Swanson,
Travel + Leisure,
27 May 2024 -
Bars and Restaurants The best seat in the house was aft, on the Lido deck, soaking up the Mediterranean sunshine with a flute of Champagne.—
Helen Iatrou,
Travel + Leisure,
30 Nov. 2023
Adjective
-
Some mechanisms deliver power to either your bicycle’s rear or front hub.—
Michael Venutolo-Mantovani,
Wired News,
20 June 2025
-
Walker pitched the idea, rallied support for it and volunteered over 100 hours of labor to create the library, a self-service kiosk that stands outside across from Casa de Mañana’s rear entrance on Coast Boulevard South.—
Noah Lyons,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 June 2025
Adverb
-
Loosely based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the film tells the tale of Benjamin Button, who is born with the appearance and strength of an elderly man and ultimately ages backward into infancy.—
Derek Scancarelli,
EW.com,
27 June 2025
-
The Brief June 26, 2025 Updates on Trump and Netanyahu, NATO, and more Play icon 06:02 Skip backward 15 seconds Length: Long Speed: 1.0x Skip forward 15 seconds TIME AI LogoPowered byScale logo Donald Trump loves to give nicknames.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
26 June 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Astern.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/astern. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share